Zack Loves Aliza/Government Shutdown Update

Zack has decided Aliza is the greatest thing since Cookie Crisp.  He was in visiting with her early this morning, before she got up.  I went in to check on them and she was laying down in bed, he was sitting on the bed next to her.

"He's okay, he's not bugging me."  She told me.

"What are you guys doing?"  I asked.

"We're talking.  Zack's saying something about being a king, I think."  She said.

This is my boy who would just as soon watch the Wiggles as do anything social with anyone, including his twin brother.  So this made me smile.

Then we went out to a park this morning before it got too hot, and it became clearer what Zack was really interested in.  I don't know if it's the fabric or the print, but for some reason, he loves the shirt Aliza has on today.

We thought he was going to push her on the swing, but he really just wanted to touch the back of her shirt.

I tried to get her to pose by this tree for a pic.  Zack stuck to her like glue.

AJ was always a day late and a dollar short.  Where'd they go?

Is it the cotton shirt, or the butterflies that is attracting him?

Eventually she got annoyed and sought refuge at the top of the tunnels.

The state government is going to have to shut down, it looks like, but our therapy will not be affected.  Medical assistance is considered essential.  Thank goodness!  It's not good news for the 1000's of government employees who will be out of work during this time though.  I wrote our state representatives last week, and got a response back from one of them yesterday.

The email (almost certainly a form letter that went out to 100's of us) completely blamed the governor for their inability to come to an agreement on the budget.  I'm going to write her back.  I don't know who is at fault and I don't care, but it sounds like she is being the one who is inflexible and instead of playing the blame game, maybe she should be trying harder to come together on an agreement.  I won't forget this, come reelection time.

At the Waisman Center

A small miracle occurred this past weekend during our trip to Madison.  We all got along pretty well.  Nobody fought, nobody hurled, there was minimal crying, very little bleeding and only one black eye.

I love bringing the boys to the Waisman Center.  We are a special family everywhere we go, but not always special and different in a good way.  At the Waisman, we are very unique and special and honored for our differences.  And it's nice to feel honored, a little.  It's nice to feel that those differences make us great.

When we got there, we practically leapt out of the van and straight into the hotel pool.  Zack and AJ were very excited to go "wimming!"

AJ has grown gills, apparently, because he keeps dunking his head under water, on purpose.  Which really freaked me out the first few dozen times he did it.  It took several attempts but I finally got a little video of him doing it, at least for a second or two.

Both Zack and AJ were superb little workers at the Waisman. They both cooperated beautifully with the researchers and even seemed to enjoy it. One of the researchers told me she thought they both seemed so socially oriented. They both loved the attention. It helped that the tests they performed were formatted so much like the ABA therapy we have at home for 6 hours a day. The idea of "perform this action, get this reinforcer" is pretty basic for them at this point.
One of the things they had to do watch a couple of simple movies. All they had to do was sit and watch. Pretty easy, right? Except that no, it wasn't one of our Big Three (Dora, Diego, or The Wiggles), so the guys were not all that interested. They managed to get through them, though. It was just pictures and then a sentence that applied to one of the pictures - like maybe it would be a cat chasing a mouse, and a cat kissing a mouse, and the sentence would be "The cat chases the mouse" and then the hope is that the kid would look over at the picture of the cat chasing the mouse. They tracked the eye movements of the boys as they watched the movies. I thought it was fascinating. It is supposed to show their comprehension of sentences without actually asking them to indicate anything purposefully. It couldn't be less invasive. All they have to do is sit there and watch!

It was really interesting to watch.  Both little guys cooperated with every single activity.

On our way home we passed the capitol of Wisconsin, and then a few hours later passed through St. Paul and saw the Minnesota capitol.  Aliza was delighted to see two state capitols in one day.

Mark was pretty excited to get to see Camp Randall.  The boys were frustrated because they were not allowed to actually run around on the field.  I'm pretty sure at the moment we took this picture, the twin who is not pictured was trying to break through the "Emergency Only" door.  They wanted to get out on that open field badly.

The best part, though, had to have been watching the boys snuggle and settle down to sleep together.  They don't sleep in the same room, much less the same bed at home, and I loved getting to see them unwind together, watching Dora and slowly falling asleep.

Good night, Madison.

Things to Look Forward to

1.  I'm working on a new design for this blog.  I know I change the background and header every few days, it seems like, but I'm going to do something a little more permanent and fitting that goes with my theme.  No idea how long it's going to take me (depends on whether I actually learn the HTML or fake it with a blogger template), so it'll have to be a surprise, but I love what I have so far.  It's fun, funky, and Fragile X-y.

2.  Tomorrow morning the five of us are heading back to Madison for another study at the Waisman Center.  AJ and I went last November and had a great experience there.  This time both boys are going to participate in a word learning study so the whole family is heading out and treating it like a mini-vacation.  I foresee lots of swimming and McDonalds in our near future.  And lots of coffee.

3.  We are going to see The Wiggles in August!  They added an afternoon show, so we are going to check it out.  It'll be the five of us and Grandma & Grandpa, so we'll have plenty of adults along in case one or both of the boys have problems.  I think the week before, I'm going to call the theater and see if I can bring the kids out there to walk around the auditorium just a little bit, and see the place.  It might make the day of the concert just a little less anxious for the boys if they are at least a little familiar with the theater.  Other suggestions are welcome.  I'm hoping to make this a successful excursion.

That's all!  Have to run and get kids ready for the day and start organizing and packing for the trip.

Feel Good Friday was created by The Girl Next Door Grows Up and is current being maintained by Lia Sophia Tomgirl.  Go write your own "things to feel good about" (or whatever - I don't always follow that rule, sometimes I just post whatever I have that day, and call it Food Good material) and link up!

Hello, My Name is Bonnie, and I'm a Yes Girl

I don't know how to say no to anyone, ever.  I'm very nice.  I'm very agreeable.  Need something done?  Ask me to do it, I'm available.  Need to change a meeting time?  No problem.  Need a volunteer for something?  I'm your woman.

What brought all this on, you ask?  Well it's the school.  The boys qualify for ESY (extended school year) and I was surprised to find that summer school is only for 1 hour, 3 days a week, for the month of July.  Geez.  Why even bother to bus them over there?  It hardly seems worth the cost and effort.  What's more, apparently and unbelieveably, I agreed to this, or so they tell me.  I have no memory of this conversation, nor can I find documentation about it.

Anyway they were going to attend school from 8 to 9 AM (so, not only is it just for an hour, but I was going to have to wake them up especially early and get them ready to go early, so they could be back and still have the entire day left to entertain them.  Yay.).  This week the district's special education boss lady called me and said she has scheduling problems, because there are too few teachers this summer session, and could the boys go to school from 11:30 to 12:30, instead? 

Then arriving home on the bus probably around 1, except for Wednesdays when they have speech therapy after school and would stay an extra 20 minutes or so, getting home around 1:15 or later - just on Wednesdays?

And this is where I became the Yes Girl.  Because even though our ABA therapy begins every afternoon at 12, I decided it wouldn't be a big deal to just shuffle around the schedule and start therapy at, oh, 1:30 instead, but only on Tuesdays and Thursdays, then on Wednesdays they'd need to wait to start till probably 1:45, and of course on Mondays and Fridays they could go ahead and start right at 12.

Yeah.  Great idea for a couple of kids for whom routine is like the most important thing in the world.

Oh for crap's sake, why did I say yes to that?

So I womanned up and called her back this morning, and appologized up and down and back and forth and inside and outside and upside down for causing her more scheduling issues, but the problem was that her changes had caused me some scheduling issues.  And she understood, and was really nice, and said she'd take a look and see what she could do, and call me back.

Then she called back a half hour later, saying they could go to school from 9 to 10, except on Wednesdays when it'll be 9 to 10:30.  I am awash in relief.  This is perfect for me.  I love that schedule.

But I bet she hates me now.  She's bad-mouthing me right now to the rest of the special needs staff.   She probably got out her red Sharpie and is drawing unhappy faces all over my kids' files.

Wait, maybe it's not all that unbelievable that I agreed kindly to a 1-hour long school day.

I need some kind of 12-step program.

State Government Shutdown = Disaster

I don't get that involved in politics, mainly because I don't feel confident that I really understand everything that is going on. I pay attention and try to learn, though.

Minnesota is currently preparing for a potential partial state government shutdown.  There are about three items the governor and legislators cannot agree on, and if they don't find some kind of compromise by the end of June, only government works and programs deemed "essential" will still be functioning.  (Legislators will of course continue to get paid.)  I watched the news but assumed, naively, that it wouldn't affect me much. This week I found out I was wrong.

You know the boys have been receiving ABA therapy for about 3 years now.  When we started, they were 3-year-olds who behaved more like 1-year-olds, with virtually no communication or play or social skills whatsoever. Now they are both talking up a storm, saying new words and even phrases every day, and they actually have activities they enjoy that don't involved the TV.  They tell jokes (they'll smile at you and say "Hi, I'm Dora!") and AJ even sings a little bit (I'm working on getting a good video of that, it's so cute!)

Anyway, due to our sons' disabilities we apply for every year and receive TEFRA (MA), which is medical assistance for Minnesota families who have too much income to qualify for other Minnesota Health Care programs (which is pretty much anybody who has a job). It helps to cover things our insurance does not, and helps with the multiple co-pays we have (for example, every single therapy session would be a $20 copay - that's 4 therapy sessions a day).

I found out this past week that the company that provides our ABA therapy is not sure whether the state workers who coordinate the disbursement of MA will be considered "essential." Which means they may not get paid, and in turn, our daily therapy sessions could end abruptly, Friday of next week.

I don't need to tell you what this would do to our routine and sense of normalcy. Breaks in our routine cause anxiety which leads to aggression and meltdowns. When just one or two therapy sessions a week are cancelled for whatever reason, the boys notice and are affected. To have all therapy come to a screeching halt could be devastating.

For another thing, I would hate to see them regress back to the screaming, hyperactive, obsessive, entirely helpless boys they were before we started ABA. I will work hard with them to retain the skills they've learned. But I'm no therapist.

Looks like I'll be emailing and/or calling my two representatives today.  If the shutdown happens, with some of our spare time we might have to go for a walk up around the Capitol and see if we can get in the building.  Maybe Zack can scream at them a little.

First Week of Summer Wrapup

It's been a nice summer break so far, one week in, although with the change in routine I'm finding it tough to complete a thought or a sentence, much less an entire blog post.  This morning I had to wrestle the computer away from them and set them up watching "Boot's First Bike."

Aliza's dance recital is this weekend and there have been several nights of rehearsals this week.

I'm so proud of my little dancer!  She is having a great time and not showing any signs of wanting to slow down, which is hard on the bank account, but I believe it's giving her confidence and poise and she's making great friends.

Vacation Bible School was a success, as far it went.  The boys only participated a tiny bit, but they loved the music and tolerated quite a bit of noise and commotion.  I noticed that the first couple of days both of them were busily pinching any kid they could reach, but by the last day of the week they were both walking right by kids without showing any aggression at all.  So that was wonderful to see.  The last couple of days they even enthusiastically allowed me to dress them to get ready to go to "bah-skoo."

Although now that that's over, if they could just do this every day, all day long, they'd be completely happy.

Alas, Temple Grandin would not approve.

What's Your Song?

I love these blog hop things.  They get me to thinking.  When I saw this "What's Your Song?" link up on the blog Things I Can't Say, a blog I really like (although the link up for the "What's Your Song?" is actually at Goodnight Moon, another very cute one) I knew immediately what my song is.

Shortly after the boys were diagnosed with Fragile X Syndrome, I was at work and listening to Yahoo Music while toiling away in my little cubicle, and Smile by Nat King Cole began to play. Instantly I began to cry.  Of course, at that time, absolutely everything from Folger's commercials to scraped knees to cloudy days made me bawl like a baby.  It was a tough time.  Mark and I worked pretty hard just getting through a normal day, without even allowing ourselves to think about what was going on with our children.  I was shaken to the core, and it was all I could do to keep up a semblance of normalcy on the outside.

This song will always make me think of my boys and that time when I needed to hear that if I smiled, things would be okay.

Smile (words by Charlie Chaplin)
Smile though your heart is aching
Smile even though it's breaking
When there are clouds in the sky, you'll get by
If you smile through your fear and sorrow
Smile and maybe tomorrow
You'll see the sun come shining through for you

Light up your face with gladness
Hide every trace of sadness
Although a tear may be ever so near
That's the time you must keep on trying
Smile, what's the use of crying?
You'll find that life is still worthwhile
If you just smile

I even used it in a little slideshow I made for You Tube a couple of years ago.  Smile is the last song, so if you start the movie and then go right up to about the 7:00 minutes spot, that's where it starts.

VBS update and some random pictures

At least they're chewing with their mouths closed.

I'm thrilled to report that Vacation Bible School has gotten easier day by day.  AJ tolerates it better than Zack does.  Zack was screaming and making that "everything about this situation hurts me" face today, even when we went outside for a break, so we left early and came home to relax.  Then we went back for the last half hour.

Of course they love the parts where the kids all sing and dance the best!

One of the many things a big sister is good for - making you look silly in pictures

Dad's slippers - they're just a little roomy!

So these two Fragile X kids go to Vacation Bible School

A few weeks ago I ambitiously signed up all three kids for Vacation Bible School at the church down the street.  I thought, the boys might have to stand in a corner and take breaks, but that's okay, it'll be great!  Today was the first day.

How did it go?

Well, it depends on who you ask.  One of their therapists, Tonya, came along to help, and she thought they did great.  VBS is 3 hours long and they managed to stay for an hour and 15 minutes.

I had much higher expectations.

It starts out with opening songs and skits in the main church sanctuary.  The boys started out sitting in the pew right behind their class, then we moved to the very last pew in the back, and finally had to leave entirely and go hang around outside a bit.  After the opening session the classes broke up and the boys' class went outside to the parking lot to do some running-around activities.  We tried just standing close to their group and watching, but even that got too exciting after a few minutes.

There is a pretty little picnic area outside the church and next to the parking lot with benches and chairs and a gazebo, and that became our "happy place."  It was where we went whenever we just couldn't stay with the kids anymore.

I had visions of me helping them make some of the crafty things and them at least sitting through the songs.  There was none of that.

When we got home, AJ gave Zack some much needed sensory input.

Were my expectations too high?  A social experience like this is making me think twice about trying to get them to be in the regular classroom next fall.  They just didn't handle it all that well.  At one point Zack started gagging so badly, I thought he was going to throw up.  I know that happens with a lot of Fragile X kids, but these guys have never been big thrower-uppers.

Is it too much to expect them to be able to at least be in a room with a bunch of kids -- even if we have to be in the back row?  I know what Temple Grandin would say.  She'd say we should go for it.  But she wasn't there.  She didn't see both boys reaching out to pinch their little classmates.  She didn't see Zack gagging.  AJ nearly bit his chewy in two.  Sigh.......

VBS is every morning this week.  We'll just take it day by day, I guess.

The Mud Boy, and the Boy Who Made the Mud

One of our few really nice days this past week, AJ redisovered the joy of a backyard wading pool and a running hose.  I forget, during the long winter, just how much this guy loves him some water.

Here's the mud boy.  Perhaps next time we'll think twice before putting the wading pool down where the grass doesn't grow and lots of dirt is readily available for mud-making.  Mud and water, though, are two awesome sensory experiences!  That's what I told myself as Zack rubbed mud on his face.

Last day of Kindergarten - stop comparing...

I tend to forget how not like other kindergarteners mine are.  We are so used to how they behave and what their needs are that we just respond to them as necessary, and don't notice their differences from other kids, at least not daily.  I don't see them next to groups of typical peers all that much.

(That's got to change, by the way.)

Yesterday those differences were right up in my face.

The boys' class (the typical class) had an end-of-the-year celebration, which I was invited to attend, along with all the other kindergartener's parents.  All the other parents seemed to know each other a little bit.

The kindergarten graduates all danced and sang to the parents.  Well, the typical ones.  AJ sat on my lap, while Miss Sherri (the EA who came along to help) tried to talk Zack into sitting, rather than bouncing here, there, and yonder while muttering to himself.  Then their teacher showed a slideshow of pictures of the kids throughout the year.  Zack and AJ appeared a couple of times in the slideshow, it was cute.  But neither boy wanted to sit and watch.  Once the lights were dimmed, AJ got up and the two of them wanted to bounce and hover right up by the screen, pointing at kids in the slideshow and saying "kids!"  "look!"

I got AJ to sit back down with me, but Miss Sherri was having a tough time subduing Zack.  He was just fascinated by the light from the projector, and oblivious to the fact that everyone else was sitting, watching, and he was in the way.  So I passed AJ on over to Miss Sherri and I strong-armed Zack into sitting with me.

To all the other parents in the room yesterday - I'm sorry my boys were so disruptive.  They can't help how they behave.  Hopefully you understood that.  You looked like nice, understanding people, but I didn't get a chance to talk to any of you.  I don't know if you knew there were some special needs children in your child's class, but you certainly know, now.

After the slideshow, while all the other kids went through their folders, proudly showing their parents all the reading pages, math sheets, and artwork they'd done throughout the year, Zack and AJ bounced and paced and muttered and babbled while Miss Sherri and I worked to get them to look at books with us.  They cooperated some but had a really hard time settling down.

So how do I avoid comparing my kids to the typical ones?  I try not to compare, to remember that they are on their own train of development and will go at their own pace, but at the same time I'm trying to keep them close to the typical kids so they can learn from them.  I can't stop comparing them if I'm going to consistently keep them in typical classrooms and with typical peers.  I'm going to have to find a way to keep them separate in my mind, even if they aren't separated in the classroom.

And just like that, kindergarten is over.

Body Issues, at the Tender Age of 8

Aliza and I were sitting outside the other night in the backyard, making a fire in the firebowl, just her and I, chatting and laughing and relaxing.  And I kept thinking about how pretty she is.  I ran inside to get my camera and snapped some quick shots of her, but I can't capture it.  The green eyes, the freckles, the unruly, wavy hair.  I can capture her personality well in pictures, but for some reason I don't think they show how pretty she is.

I'm worried a lot right now about her self image.  Up until this spring, she's been blissfully unself-conscious.  She flitted around the neighborhood in shorts and tank tops every summer (and sometimes just a swimsuit), and she was a totally carefree, sunny, happy-go-lucky little girl.  I knew that wouldn't last forever, but I'd hoped to continue it for a more years.  I think it might be over now, at age 8.

She's so much pickier lately, about what she wears.  She won't wear shorts to school, she told me she's just going to wear long pants or capris.  I don't get it.  Everyone else wears shorts. Her classroom isn't air-conditioned.  A few times, if she thinks the shirt she's wearing is too tight or too short, she'll keep her jacket all day.  That can't be comfortable.

This smile makes me think of my cousin Andrea.

Last Thursday was "dress like a friend" day, and Aliza and her friend Sophie decided to dress in all red, from head to toe.  Aliza has red pants, that's easy.  Finding a shirt was tougher because all her red shirts were too small, she decided.  She definitely won't wear anything that, if she raises her arms above her head, shows her tummy.  But even the longer shirts are too snug.  She doesn't like anything body-hugging, and right now, that's the style in women's and girl's t-shirts -- go shopping check for yourself.   All the t-shirts for women are tapered and meant to fit like a second skin.  I don't like it any more than she does, and she probably knows that.

So I tried to show her how to stretch out a shirt a little, if she thinks it's too tight, but it wasn't working well enough for her and at one point she looked down, almost in tears saying "I'll just wear my jacket over it."  It breaks my heart.

I'd like to blame society for this, at least in part.  It isn't just the ads for adults that she happens to see.  It's the cartoons, too.  Just the other day I walked in on her watching an episode of Phineas and Ferb that had their sister Candace looking at a magazine called "Flawless Girl," and saying she is so glad she has that magazine to show her what clothes to wear, and how to fix her hair.  I don't want my 8 year old thinking about trying to be a "flawless girl." 

This video does a great job of showing you outwardly what the ads we see are telling our subconscious.

I guess all I can do is try hard to give her confidence in herself.  Make sure she eats healthy, gets lots of exercise but doesn't see it as exercise, and knows she is a smart, fun, and gorgeous little kid.


Nobody told me I was going to have to worry about things like this as a parent.  So much of my worrying is taken up by the boys.  I guess I'll have to reserve some of my worry quota for my daughter too.

Totally Off Topic: Going to the Movies by Yourself

(Feel Good Friday was created by The Girl Next Door Grows Up and is currently being hosted by Lia Sophia Tomgirl.)

A good movie is such a great escape.  For a couple of hours my whole life can consist of just a big screen, great actors, an engaging story, some very unhealthy popcorn, a diet Coke.  No kids, laundry, phone calls, family therapy, forms, diapers, screaming, cereal, lawn mowing, dishes, appointments, Wiggles, toys, ............

When Mark was laid off during the last couple of years, I went to movies by myself sometimes, on the days he was home too, and there was just no need for us both to be here all day.   I knew that eventually he'd have a job and I'd have to take over the home and kid duties 100% once again, so I took advantage of being able to get out of the house during the day once in awhile.  Shopping was a bad (expensive) idea, but a matinee can be quite affordable with coupons and frequent viewer cards.  Two hours all by myself.  It was quite heavenly.

Now when I go to the movies with someone else I'm like, wait, you mean I have to wait for you? I have to consider what movie YOU might want to watch?  And sit maybe where you want to sit? And share my popcorn?  Oh, man....

Around 10 years ago someone emailed this list to me and I saved it because I thought it was brilliant.  Remember back when we were all forwarding each other little jokes, stories, quotes, lists, pictures, and inspirational things?  And every email would have about 100,000 >>>>s before each line of text?  Has anyone ever been able to explain why that happened?

Anyway here I removed all the >>>>>s for your viewing ease.  You're welcome.

I have no idea who wrote this, or I'd credit them appropriately.

Oh and before you read this list, you should know that one of my favorite movies is Flash Gordon (1980).

If I ever become an Evil Overlord:

1. My legions of terror will have helmets with clear plexiglass visors, not face-concealing ones.

2. My ventilation ducts will be too small to crawl through.

3. My noble half-brother whose throne I usurped will be killed, not kept anonymously imprisoned in a forgotten cell of my dungeon.

4. Shooting is not too good for my enemies.

5. The artifact which is the source of my power will not be kept on the Mountain of Despair beyond the River of Fire guarded by the Dragons of Eternity. It will be in my safe-deposit box.

6. I will not gloat over my enemies' predicament before killing them.

7. When the rebel leader challenges me to fight one-on-one and asks, "Or are you afraid without your armies to back you up?" My reply will be, "No, just sensible."

8. When I've captured my adversary and he says, "Look, before you kill me, will you at least tell me what this is all about?"  I'll say, "Nope" and shoot him.

9. After I kidnap the beautiful princess (or perhaps, prince), we will be married immediately in a quiet civil ceremony, not a lavish spectacle in three weeks time during which the final phase of my plan will be carried out.

10. I will not include a self-destruct mechanism unless absolutely necessary. If it is necessary, it will not be a large red button labeled "Danger: Do Not Push".

11. I will not order my trusted lieutenant to kill the infant who is destined to overthrow me -- I'll do it myself.

12. I will not interrogate my enemies in the inner sanctum-- a small hotel well outside my borders will work just as well.

13. I will be secure in my superiority. Therefore, I will feel no need to prove it by leaving clues in the form of riddles or leaving my weaker enemies alive to show they pose no threat.

14. I will not waste time making my enemy's death look like an accident: I'm not accountable to anyone and my other enemies wouldn't believe it.

15. I will make it clear that I do know the meaning of the word "mercy"; I simply choose not show them any.

16. One of my advisors will be an average five-year-old child. Any flaws in my plan that he is able to spot will be corrected before its implementation.

17. All slain enemies will be cremated, not left for dead at the bottom of the cliff. The announcement of their deaths, as well as any accompanying celebration, will be deferred until after the aforementioned disposal.

18. My undercover agents will not have tattoos identifying them as members of my organization, nor will they be required to wear military boots or adhere to any other dress codes.

19. The hero is not entitled to a last kiss, a last cigarette, or any other form of last request.

20. I will never employ any device with a digital countdown. If I find that such a device is absolutely unavoidable, I will set it to activate when the counter reaches 117 and the hero is just putting his plan into operation.

21. I will design all doomsday machines myself. If I must hire a mad scientist to assist me, I will make sure that he is sufficiently twisted to never regret his evil ways and seek to undo the damage he's caused.

22. I will never utter the sentence "But before I kill you, there's just one thing I want to know."

23. When I employ people as advisors, I will occasionally listen to their advice.

Both boys break some ground

AJ ate pizza!

Zack already eats pizza, more or less.  I have to cut it into tiny bites like you would for a toddler, and then most of the time we have to put them in his mouth.  He might pick them up and eat them himself, but he definitely prefers you do the dirty work.  AJ was totally anti-pizza for a long, long time.  I covered exactly what the boys will eat (instead of what they won't eat, because it's a much shorter list) here.

Then a couple of weeks ago when I was out and about, Mark said he got AJ to eat pizza.  That's how it works a lot of the time; Mark can get them to do lots of things they will fight me tooth & nail about.

So then I tried it and I got AJ to eat pizza (again, a tiny little bite, with me promising a Dorito right after pizza, and then putting it in his mouth).  I was thrilled!  He eats pizza!  Like an ordinary kid!

Yesterday AJ really blew me away when he touched the pizza with his own hands and ate it.  He's a rock star!

So finally, we have a meal, a common family meal that all five of us can eat, together.  When we eat pizza, we can pretend that we are finally a normal, ordinary family.

And Zack, not to be outdone, blazed his own "I can do new stuff" trail.  He rode a bike this week.

Mark recently put the training wheels back on Aliza's little pink Barbie bike, to see if the boys would give it a try.  AJ was very excited about it for about 90 seconds, then he was "all done."  Zack could have let Aliza or me push him up and down the street all afternoon.  He loved it!

Now to get him to actually push on the pedals....

Wordless Wednesday - Career Day

It's "wear what you want to be when you are grown up" day.  Evidently Aliza wants to be a cheerleader.

That's Mark's girl.